Pitskills, Connectome, and Lucid Dreaming
October 18, 2024
Welcome to this 136th issue of our newsletter “Weak Signals and other Trends”.
Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.
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I have prepared this newsletter this week from Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.
Estelle.
Competitive Intelligence
Transform licence plates into leads. Amazon-Powered AI Cameras Used to Detect Emotions of Unwitting UK Train Passengers. The AI glasses that reveal anyone-a private details. Comparing search engines. Shh, ChatGPT. That’s a Secret. Google now offers an “About this image” to get an image’s age. The AI Glasses That Reveal Anyone’s Personal Details—Home Address, Name, Phone Number—Just from Looking at Them.
Strategic blindspots and business models
Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.
Avride will make Uber Eats deliveries with its six-wheeled sidewalk robots. A town of 2,000 people in western North Carolina was among many cities devastated by Hurricane Helene. The town is one of the only places in the world that can mine high-purity quartz. Why Silicon Valley’s biggest AI developers are hiring poets. Trade your lego bricks. Hackers took over robovacs to chase pets and yell slurs.
Our future
As consumers seek Instagrammable food products, food coloring agents are surging in growth. Climate Abandonment Areas. Out Skills come into play: abilities where humans steer intelligent assistants, powered by rare data, granting them precise expertise. Climate Change Is Making Glacier Tourism More Popular, and Riskier. Global navigator: The 2050 Global Outlook. Quantinuum Successfully Teleports a Logical Qubit. Global energy perspective.
We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter.
Weak signals
Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?
License-plate cameras are unwittingly creating the largest-known database of bumper stickers in the US. Starbucks is investing in two new innovation farms in Costa Rica and Guatemala to figure out how to climate-proof its coffee. Madrid's metro moonlights as a delivery service in 'Última Milla' pilots. Ceux qui veulent plus de congés prendront le train. Largest French Fry Supplier Lamb Weston Closes Factory.
Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.
Down the rabbit hole
This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):
This week, I explored the search engines for wandering.
On my radar
I am preparing for a major recruiting firm a workshop in Montreal on November 7th for board directors on dilemmas they’ll face when overseeing Artificial Intelligence strategies: Commercial Surveillance is Out of Control. In Japan, supermarkets are evaluating with IA their employees’ smile. Cars Are the Worst Product Category We Have Ever Reviewed for Privacy. As part of its AI initiative, Microsoft Team's facial recognition feature will be coming to desktops in December. MorphCast for Zoom analyzes participants' attention level, engagement and emotional state during the videoconference or webinar.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.
Rural/Urban migration. A new study looks at divorces by men who meet their new partner at work, aka office relationships. Complete map of fruit fly brain circuitry unveiled. What would you choose as your final resting place? Lego encourages kids to try lucid dreaming. The atlas of surveillance.
Lab grow diamonds, and this quote, which highlights what branding in luxury is about:
“Time gives it rarity, the story gives it meaning”
Numbers
75%- About 75 percent of inbound containers in the US return to their origin empty.
12mns- Average lifespan of a plastic bag before it’s discarded
73%- 73% of Gen Z dream of starting a side hustle – and AI is their ultimate power-up
Feeling good
Lightning and thunderstorms. Bird Migration Dashboard. An unusual and poetic personal website.
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